Cameraless photography creates lockdown ‘supernovae’ at home

These entrancing orbs look like something plucked from distant universes, but they were in fact created by photographer Charlotte Greenwood using her own spin on cliché-verre printing

By Gege Li

Photographer Charlotte Greenwood

THESE entrancingly vibrant orbs look like something plucked from an alien planet, but they were in fact created without a camera by photographer Charlotte Greenwood as part of her ongoing project, Cliché-Verres in Colour.

Confined to her home during the lockdowns of the covid-19 pandemic, Greenwood was motivated to pursue a form of photography outside the traditional photographic darkroom. Her technique is based on cliché-verre, which combines photography with painting or drawing on transparent surfaces, such as glass, to create negatives.

Greenwood put her own spin on cliché-verre to create these images, which reveal the interaction between traditional art materials and household substances. She wishes to keep her process secret to preserve the mystery and allure of her work, she says.

The top row of images are titled Toxin, Mocha III and Oculus, while the bottom row shows Halcyon, Cerulean and Cosmic Conception 1.

“I present unseen perspectives of the natural world that offer viewers new ways of seeing and allow them to perceive micro details usually invisible to the naked eye,” says Greenwood. “As I work with unpredictable and uncontrollable materials, creating the images is a true collaboration with nature.”